


Why 'Ocean' was ALMOST a thing.

by Bestchoicescenario



Series: Ocean Fantasy [1]
Category: A.C.E (Beat Interactive Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Alternate Universe - Supernatural Elements, Donghun feels very confused, Donghun the human, Junhee the mermaid, M/M, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, and just a tad left out
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-25
Updated: 2018-04-07
Packaged: 2019-03-23 15:09:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,385
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13790319
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bestchoicescenario/pseuds/Bestchoicescenario
Summary: Donghun had many opinions of Junhee. One was that he was an excellent dancer. Another was that he was a brilliant leader. Occasionally he was boring too. One he did not previously have though - before the day of the beach, was that the boy's choice of the name 'Ocean' had anything to do to with how the same boy also had a scaly tail, webbed fingers and long hair when submerged in salt water.





	1. A day at the beach

" _So this is why you wanted to be named 'Ocean' huh?" Donghun drawled out towards the direction of his bandmate._  
  
.

 Today was the day. The long-awaited day (well not that long, maybe more of a week-awaited day). A holiday! Or rather a day off…finally. And to say the boys were excited was an understatement.

 The CEO had decided to rent out a minivan, and let the boys go to the beach, _unaccompanied_. (What on earth was she thinking.) It was practically a miracle.

  Byeongkwan and Chan were bickering in the backseats whilst Sehyoon slept between them. (How he was doing so, Donghun would never know, they were louder than a goddamn club at 3am during D&B hour). Then there was Junhee sat to his side, arms loosely resting on his lap and aimlessly staring out the passenger window.

 Donghun wanted to keep stealing glances at the boy, his expression was somewhat listless yet longing at the same time, an expression that Donghun had never really seen painted on the boys unique features. But he couldn't just stare at his beautiful unique features like he might want to right now. The roads were busy today, the sun was shining, almost blindingly so (Thank goodness for sunglasses), and apparently everyone and their mother were itching to get to the beach before the last of the summer warmth was taken away and replaced by the winter chill.

 

.  
  
 The boys had left early enough that the sun wasn't even reaching its peak yet.

 One by one they filtered excitedly out of the van, Chan's bouncing around having woken up Sehyoon just as the sea appeared in the near distance whilst they were still on the road.

 Donghun's same aged friend didn't get out quite as fast the other two, the remains of sleep still sticking his muscles together giving him the impression of a tired sloth. Donghun chuckled under his breath at the sight, each of the younger bandmates attempting to drag at Sehyoon's arms in an effort to make him go faster - evidently pointless.

 He peaked over to Junhee again, now that he had the chance. On the boy's features, a soft smile was resting, he still had the longing look in his eyes, like he did in the van, but here? Out in the open? With the salt breeze embracing them, Donghun could even fool himself into thinking that Junhee's eyes were shining gold.

 Great, the sun stroke was already setting in. Maybe this was a sign he shouldn't trap himself in the basement training for so long.

 

.

 

 Donghun could get used to this sort of life. Relaxing on the beach with a book, watching the maknae's try and dunk his same aged friend under the water. Thankfully phones have great camera's these days and more than one of Sehyoon's faces would be forever memorialised.

 But there was something missing. Or rather, _someone_.

 Last Donghun recalls, Junhee had wondered off about an hour ago. He seemed shaky, almost nervous for some reason. Donghun just presumed the dude had a serious need to pee. But an _hour?_ Slightly concerning.

 With a quick yell to Sehyoon to look after their stuff, and a loud whining noise in the direction of the water, Donghun placed his book down and set off into the direction he last saw their leader stroll off to.

 

.

 

 It'd been at least an hour since Donghun had started wandering around looking for Junhee. Still no luck. The boy was gone. Completely disappeared, vanished like the clouds on a warm summers day and Donghun was getting worried. Junhee wasn't the type to just up and leave, not without saying what he was up to at least.

 And then he found what he dubbed The Cove™. A stereotypical tiny beach surrounded by a small cliff and damn lot of rocks. He didn't think Junhee would actually be here, but if the boy would want to be alone for whatever reason (must have been stupid if he couldn't even tell Donghun), then this would be where he would find him.

 And find him he did.

 Except…not all was…right. There was Junhee indeed, contently sitting in the shallows. Peace and serenity practically glowing from the man. He had the same sharp features, bony elbows, skinny waist, and he was still wearing the no-sleeved vest that he was earlier. Except there were things not quite Junhee. His blonde hair was far longer than it was before, flowing far down his back 'til it was resting on the sand. Then there was the…what could only be described as…a tail. Not a monkey's tail, or dog's tail…but slightly more…fish-like, very scaly, positioned right where Junhee's legs should be. Donghun may have missed it if he wasn't entirely petrified. The scales shimmered the same blue as the shallow sea, with a slight golden iridescence about them which were extremely similar to the state of Junhee's iris' right now.

.

 Okay, Donghun had been staring at Junhee for far too long. He could either retreat, or confront his bandmate. And Donghun was not a man who would let something like this go. His friend was a freaking MERMAID for God's sake. How long had he been one? Is this why he took so long to shower? 

  "So this is why you wanted to be named 'Ocean' huh?" Donghun drawled out towards the direction of his bandmate. It wasn't so much of a drawl as it was Donghun's natural way of speaking to Junhee, and right now his brain was far too shocked to do anything but its default setting.  
 Junhee's head quickly whipped round towards Donghun, surprised at the sudden intrusion on his peaceful (fish?) time.

 "Donghun! Uh…I…" He stammered, "Wasn't expecting you here."

 "And I wasn't expecting you to be half fish but life doesn't always turn out how we expect it, right?"

 "Uhhh…Sorry?"

 Donghun really expected Junhee to not sit there and stare at him like he had just grown 3 heads. Or the half-hearted apology. He expected, maybe an exclamation of 'Oh my GOD, You discovered what I really am!' and for Junhee to jump into the water to never be seen again. Not, just…sitting. So Donghun did what any normal human would do confronted by such an occurrence, and sat next to Junhee.

 Seemingly un-phased, or at least attempting to be, he took Junhee's hand and placed it on his lap. (Despite the fact he was trembling immensely and Junhee could probably tell.) He tried to clasp their fingers together, an action he had to give up on once realising Junhee's fingers were webbed now.

 "You know…if somethings bothering you, you can tell me right."

 At this Junhee guffawed.

 Donghun pouted.

 Junhee at this moment decided to shake his tail a little, splashing Donghun's torso and face with salty water, to which he promptly spat back out. His façade of normality now entirely lost.

 "You know if there's _anything_ bothering you, you can tell me right?" Reuttering Donghun's words, Junhee sighed out."I'm fully aware this isn't normal…but honestly, considering how everyone in A.C.E is supernatural somehow, I don’t really understand why your so scare….wait, you're not a fire type are you?" Junhee hushed words becoming more hurried in panic of his bandmate suddenly shedding into ashes because of the water.

 All Donghun could do in return is gape, mouth wide open at Junhee. "saywhatnow". He shook his head in disbelief. "A.C.E are supernatural?"

 "Shit. You didn't know…wait…ARE YOU HUMAN?!" Junhee took a deep breath, before lowering his voice again, closing down to a whisper and learning closer to Donghun's ear. "You have nothing supernatural in you whatsoever?"

 Donghun snapped. He was supposed to be the one interrogating Junhee on why he was a fish person, of which still hadn't been cleared up, but now he's being told that none of his bandmates are human, and that he shouldn't be either?!

 Nope. Donghun was out. His brain needed a breather. This was far too much for his _human_ mind to comprehend. He stood up abruptly, letting go of Junhee's hand much to Junhee's discontent judging by his whines and pleads to not go, and headed in the direction he thought their stuff was, and possibly, a bar. Alcohol would be very welcomed right now.

 And if Junhee chose to follow him, _if_ he could. Then Donghun would ignore him.

 A mermaid!

 Junhee was a mermaid!

 (And had never told Donghun in the 4 years he knew him.)

 

.

 

 Nursing the soju in his hand, Donghun gulped down another shot.

 He was on his last shot of the bottle when Junhee finally strolled through the door of the bar (with his legs, Donghun noted), hair returned to its normal length and eyes as dark as the night yet again.

 Donghun could barely lift his head when Junhee sat down. Not because he didn’t want to, but this was his 4th bottle of soju in the span of an hour and why the barkeep hadn't stopped him, he wasn't sure…but he wasn't about to complain any time soon.

 Until Junhee flashed him that smile that was so uniquely _Junhee_ that Donghun was almost blinded. Were shining teeth another fish feature or had Donghun just had too much to drink?

 "I think it's time we go home, Sehyoon looks like he's about to start shriveling up, and the maknae-line is about 3 shades redder than when we left the house."

 

 "And you're not driving Mr.IliketodrinktoavoidmyproblemsDonghun."


	2. Soju, the best escape.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Donghun has a little bit of a meltdown at the realisation he's a human in a supernatural house. (Crappy angst, I'm so sorry.)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ah, I'm really not happy with the angst in this chapter, but for some reason it felt like there needed to be some? Ahhh I'm sorry xD 
> 
> I just really wanted to post it even though its short because I'm not sure if I can get it 'better' and the A.C.E page has been quiet recently.. (I can't be the only one that reloads the page like 20 times a day right?)

Donghun was splayed out on the sofa in front of the TV, not quite ready to face the other members just yet and their true _heritage_. It had been a couple of days since the day at the beach and Donghun was avoiding any chance of being dragged into a meeting with the others.

 

He personally enjoyed knowing the normality of human life. Enjoyed waking up and not worrying he could be turned into a werewolf at the next full moon. (Donghun didn't want to admit he hadn't been out for his usual nightly walks in fear of vampires now.)

 

So instead he passed his free time practicing or watching movies like usual. If he happened to avoid the fantasy-esque movies then no one would notice.

 

Except they did.

 

\--

 

Donghun was currently hiding in the attic, bundled up amongst blankets in the corner. He didn't want to intrude on Sehyoon's privacy. But where else could he hide away, and not bother his other members. Chan was too happy, too cheerful, and whilst he would normally look for the boy to cheer himself up, it just didn't fit Donghun's mood right now. So his room was out of options. Byeongkwan had taken up residence in the kitchen/living room and Junhee was meditating in his room. He still couldn't look the leader in the eyes. Memories of a giant scaly tail exploding in his mind, it was still a bit too much to take in without the help of alcohol to ease him.

 

But Sehyoon's attic? There was something innately peaceful about it, albeit very cold. How Sehyoon could stay up here when it felt like -3'C, Donghun wasn't sure he wanted to know. Plus his same aged friend permanently had headphones on, his eyes were also continually trained to his computer screen.

 

Sehyoon probably didn't even realise Donghun had shuffled up here with his arms filled with soft covers and cushions. (He did, but Donghun didn't know that.)

 

\--

 

"Hyung, wait a moment." Junhee grasped out at Donghun's arm as he was leaving the practice room. 

 

A.C.E's schedule had returned back to normal now and the permanent ache in his muscles and blaring music had kept Donghun's mind occupied away from the supernatural. So much in fact he was wondering if the entire day at the beach had been a fevered dream.

 

But it hadn't and the moment that Junhee had held on to his arm, Donghun had jumped back, pulling his arm away as if he had been burnt. His bag dropped to the floor with a loud thud, gathering the attention of everyone in the room. Pain streaked across Junhee's face, his eyes starting to water. Even whilst staring down at his feet he could feel the stare of the other members, but he couldn't look at them, couldn't look at Junhee, not even himself in the mirror. So instead he ran, choosing to escape instead of the confrontation he knew would eventually happen.

 

\--

 

This time it was Sehyoon that found him nursing another bottle of Soju in his hand. He looked up to his same aged friend, and at the sight of him, Donghun wanted to cry. Sehyoon pulled out the chair smoothly, sitting down slowly as if he didn't want to startle Donghun. Acting like he was a scared bunny rather than a human man.

 

Donghun wanted to run again, he really did. But where would he run to? Another bar? He would just get tracked down again. Home? But he had worked so hard to get into A.C.E, his long term dreams were starting to become a reality and here he was throwing it all away.

 

Sehyoon just peered at the other boy whilst he was going through all this internal turmoil, his gaze felt so piercing that Donghun wanted to shrink away. But Donghun knew Sehyoon. Or at least he thought he did. What if his eyes could hypnotise him? Not knowing what was real and what was not, Donghun had become afraid of everything. Junhee had mentioned all members were supernatural, that meant Sehyoon too right?

 

When he first found out about Junhee's tail, the first sighting of him in the water, Donghun had become breathless, in awe of Junhee's ethereal beauty.

 

 But weeks later and time to sit and stew on what he thought his reality was and what it turned out to be, had turned Donghun into a paranoid mess. He wasn't sure he could trust his friends, his family, his members. They had kept so much from him and it hurt. He had let them in, and what he thought he knew had all been lies. Could he still trust them? Would he let them back in only to tell him more lies?

 

Then what about the strangers in the street? People he didn't even know, who had zero care for him. Could he become a victim to some supernatural attack? Enter the dangers of a world he knew nothing about?

 

Donghun sat there, hand still wrapped around the bottle of soju, and cried. Silent tears that accompanied muffled sobs. His head banged lightly on the table and he felt a soft hand scratching and petting lightly in his hair.

 

Even if everything had changed, trust Sehyoon to still try and comfort through his subtle actions rather than his words.

 

\--

 

Donghun had found himself in the attic again, this time though Sehyoon had unplugged his headphones, and soft music was drifting in the air. It was the closest Donghun had felt to peaceful in the last couple of weeks. He was almost starting to drift to sleep, bundled up in his little cocoon until he felt a presence sit next to him.

 

His eyes roamed up, Sehyoon had moved from his computer and was now just staring ahead, his eyebrows furrowed in concentration.

 

They sat there together in silence for what felt like hours, and although it was comforting, a reminder of old times, before they were ready  to debut, Donghun remained tense, ready to bolt if necessary. His eyes permanently fixed to his fellow 93-liner, just in case.

 

"Please stop being so scared of us.." Sehyoon muttered. His voice sounding so fragile that Donghun almost flinched at the sound. "We won't hurt you."

 

Donghun noticed tears starting to form in Sehyoon's eyes and before he could stop himself, went to wipe them away from his cheeks.  

 

He breathed out a sigh, was this what he had been afraid of this entire time? This big baby who whined when he got his clothes pinched? Who was currently crying at being avoided? What danger could this boy actually do to him? They were family after all, had Donghun really forgotten what that meant?

 

He pinched the bridge of his nose, and groaned, suddenly aware of his own stupidity, bursting out into beautiful laughter, he smiled. Hugging Sehyoon like nothing had ever happened.

 

Sehyoon looked like Donghun had just grown two heads, but a shy smile graced his lips, and to Donghun, reality finally started to seem normal again.

 

\--

 

It wasn't long until the other members had come up to join the two 93-liners in the attic. The sound of Donghun's cheerful laughter had gotten their attention, echoing throughout the entirety of the house, and soon all 5 were huddled around in a circle, Donghun muttering apologies to all of them from his little cocoon of comforters.

 

Chan had clung close to him, his head resting in Donghun's lap as Sehyoon stroked the maknae's hair from next to him. Junhee and Byeongkwan leaning on each other, grinning at Donghun's sudden turn in mood.

 

\--

 

Dinner time was when Donghun finally decided to breach the issue of the supernatural to the others, his curiosity finally have gotten the best of him. All members decided to order in chicken in celebration of Donghun no longer avoiding them, (Junhee was paying thanks to the rigged game of rock-paper-scissors), and with a fried chicken leg perched in one hand he gestured to the table.

 

"So…if Junhee's a mer..thing, then what are the rest of you?"

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have another chapter written up, just to explain what each member is in more depth...then I think after I'll probably just write one shots of different events in their lives. 
> 
> I just like these kind of fantasy au's but written the way I have I'm not sure I can go full blown chaptered story with this one...too busy doing that with another...
> 
> Thanks for reading though~ Hope you enjoyed~


	3. Things he should have noticed.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Just a collection of things Donghun has realised in the few days after he found his peace with the supernatural.

It was only a couple of days since their discussion and now that Donghun wasn't actively avoiding the notion of anything supernatural he was starting to notice things he probably should have noticed before.

 

\--

 

For one, Junhee took abnormally long showers, and fairly often too compared to the other members.

 

 Donghun had always just presumed it was a 'Junhee thing', and before knowing the reason had always teased him about it, but after finding out that it was because his skin dried out slightly easier from the air, suddenly it all made sense. (That and the 3 thousand bottles of moisturiser he kept in his drawer during summer.)

 

Plus Junhee just really liked the feel of water over his skin. Said it stopped him getting homesick so often, relieved him of stress in tired times.

 

"Oh but don't worry, it's only in salty water that I end up growing my tail back" He had laughed then, "It's been so long I'm not even sure I know how to swim anymore with one."

 

Donghun wanted to smile back, but Junhee's eyes had flashed with such despair at his own words, Donghun wasn't sure he knew how.

 

\--

 

Two, Sehyoon had a mini fridge with a lock on it in the attic. Why anyone kept a lock on a minifridge Donghun could never work out. When asked, Sehyoon had always just stayed silent and mysterious, and despite Donghun's curiosity and treasure hunting skills, couldn't ever find the key.

 

So yesterday he had asked. And whilst Sehyoon would normally brush off his comment, this time he pulled out a key, (did it suddenly materialise, or was that just Donghun's imagination?) and unlocked it, gesturing for Donghun to look himself.

 

Inside, almost a dozen blood bags were situated. A positive…O negative…AB…B negative, it seemed like blood of every type was placed in the mini fridge. Donghun quirked an eyebrow up at Sehyoon, but the other boy just shrugged.

 

"The types taste different." As if that was the answer Donghun was searching for. He replaced the lock and closed the minifridge again. "Plus Byeongkwan isn't always around, and not having fangs like most vampires makes things a little difficult." He nodded over to the cup full of multicoloured straws and a pair of scissors on his desk.

 

Donghun just dumbly nodded back, he had always figured that Sehyoon just really liked straws.

 

\--

 

The third was that Chan ate _a lot_. This was no secret. And whilst Donghun had always put it down to a fast metabolism, turned out it was an _supernaturally_ , fast metabolism.

 

As Junhee had delicately put it 'No one knows what the hell Chan is." And it seemed like all these varying heritages made for a very competitive metabolism, constantly fighting over the energy in the young boy's body.

 

Byeongkwan had managed to figure out when the two only knew each other, that the boy must have at least a little dryad in him. Plants and flowers seemed to love the boy, always bending slightly towards him as if asking to be petted. Donghun figured this was why all the cactus' seemed to flower so often in his presence. (Weren't they only supposed to bloom once a year and not, like, twenty?)

 

Meanwhile Sehyoon had hypothesised that the boy had a little pixie in him. Chan had a slight lilt in his voice that reminded Sehyoon of a young pixie family that helped him when he got lost in a forest as a child. ( _'Don't ask, it's really not as exciting as it sounds it could be'_ ).  The other members couldn't hear it but Sehyoon had a unique sense of hearing thanks to his heritage. It didn't really do much, magically wise, but the pixies were always good at making friends, and maybe this influenced Chan's ability to do the same.

 

\--

 

The fourth wasn't something that Donghun was sure he wanted to know.

 

Ever since the two had met, Sehyoon and Byeongkwan had always 'sparked' as Junhee said. They had become intimate very quickly, fitting into each other's sides like long lost puzzle pieces.

 

All members of A.C.E were warned when the two wanted to spend time alone. (Which was more often than was comfortable at times. Sometimes Donghun just wanted to sleep without hearing noises from the next room, was that too much to ask?)

 

It turns out that the reason things seemed to happen so often was because Byeongkwan needed to satiate his 'appetite'.

 

"Please Byeongkwan I really don't need the details." Donghun had whined when they were discussing dinner one day.

 

"No you idiot, I'm a Gumiho. Sex is literally a meal to me, plus I can grow fangs, so Sehyoon finds it easier to feed off me. Easier to nip at my own arm than him trying to pierce someone with a straw. Blood bags aren't easy to get a hold of, even if you do have the connections. And personally, I don't want to be eating human liver. Animals are great and all, but nowhere near as satisfying."

 

"Dude!"

 

"You asked what I liked to eat the most!"

 

"Sehyoon wasn't the answer I was expecting!" Donghun paused for a moment. "Or wanted," he grimaced.

 

When Sehyoon rounded the corner to ask them to quieten down, his cheeks were flushed and his ears bright crimson. Unusual to see on his normally pale skin.

 

\--

 

The last thing was something that took longer to notice. Turns out one of the fears of the supernatural that Donghun had been scared of was justified.

 

The closer it got to a full moon, then the more likely it would be that one of the others would accompany him on his nightly walks. (This was before his fear of vampires, of course.) When Donghun finally clicked he had gone to Chan, asking why it was that someone tended to go with him so often. ( _'Is it actually werewolves?' Donghun had stage whispered to him. Chan nodded nonchalantly in reply before returning to memorising his lyrics._ ) 

 

Werewolves weren't exactly rare amongst the supernatural and nor were they particularly dangerous. They had managed to integrate fairly well amongst humans over the years. They were essentially human after all, at least until the full moon. However something not really understood about them was that werewolves were majority made up of women. Natural born male werewolves were far rarer, something to do with their genetics Byeongkwan had stated, but it gave them a good reason to be able to take days of from work at least once a month. Also made it harder to be noticed by hunters. (Yes hunters were real, although pretty illegal nowadays, some of the old families that had a lot of money still dabbled.)

 

But like the stories and movies, werewolves did turn on the month, and any human who got bit or scratched had the possibility of becoming one. (How else were they meant to reproduce if males were rare?) And so, his younger members had taken it upon themselves to guard him when the time came around.

 

Sehyoon would be the one to accompany him the most, vampires and werewolves had a habit of avoiding each other, something about the smell? Sehyoon had tried to explain but honestly Donghun didn't get it. So even if Sehyoon wasn't fully blooded, the natural aversion was the safest option. Byeongkwan was next, he had the most attacking power out of all of them, the only one who actually had 'magic' that he could use to defend himself. (Sehyoon's was practically nothing more than petty tricks.) Chan was still learning to harness his…whatever it was.

 

And Junhee was pretty useless unless in the water. (Plus the boy had only recently learned that Donghun was human. The others had known for a while it seemed. It caused Junhee some stress when he realised he was the only one who didn't know, but with Donghun avoiding him, he had enough time to get over it. If his night terrors got worse for a little while, well at least only Byeongkwan and Sehyoon knew.)

 

\--

 

Honestly it was weird for Donghun to discover so many new things in such a short period of time. But it was exciting. Even if every time he left the house he stood a little closer to his members, and scrutinised strangers a little more. _('Stop staring Hyung!')_

 

But it was fun too, and interesting. They seemed more lax around him, more open.

Occasionally, Byeongkwan would even let Donghun sleep curled up in his fluffy fox tails when practice was just a bit _too_ much.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh my god, I'm literally so sorry for this ridiculous thing. I swear any more chapters I do in this series/au will be far better than the trash I just wrote. 
> 
> (I'll probably do one shots now, and just state they are in the 'Ocean fantasy' series.)
> 
> Thank y'all for reading. And for the kind words, it is very much appreciated...

**Author's Note:**

> Waahhh, I don't know why this needed to be a thing in my eyes, but here it is. At least the first part of it. There will be another part, for sure, and maybe one or two after that depending how I get on and feel with this universe after I'm done. 
> 
> I apologise if it seems fairly fast-paced, my laptop will be taken from me soon and I kinda wanted to get at least one chapter out before that happens. (Just in case I'm a dumdum and lose my backups cleaning or something.) I might try slow it down for the next chapter... and then maybe edit it at a later date when stuff settles down and my laptop isn't beeping at me every 5 minutes.
> 
> I hope you enjoyed reading~~


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